Now, to avenge that insult and save face in the eyes of their deadly enemies, the Empire must recover the sword at any cost. Their envoys to the Federation demand the return of the sword and the extradition of the Romulan renegades who aided the StarshipEnterprise in McCoy's escape. If diplomacy fails, the Romulans will trap the Klingons and the Federation in open war.

In such dangerous times, the Starship Enterprise is assigned the most valuable – and volatile – element of all: the fugitive Ael, her stolen Bird-of-PreyBloodwing, and the sword they carry. Ael will undoubtedly use ship and sword to foil her enemies and play her hand in the dangerous game that she's begun. But she will do it all under the watchful eyes of James T. Kirk, the Federation starship captain who knows her dangerously well...

This book was released thirteen years after the previous entry in the series, The Romulan Way. Duane noted that the novel "was originally outlined the year after The Romulan Way, and it was always intended to follow more or less directly on [from its] events". (Voyages of Imagination, p. 118)

The novel starts with an editor's note, explaining that the series "is meant to stand apart from established Star Trek continuity".